India bucked global trends with this year's initial public offerings, establishing itself as a rare bright spot for tech listings as other major markets continue to face headwinds. The world's most populous country is now preparing for an even bigger wave of startup IPOs in 2025.
More than 20 startups are preparing to go public next year, according to people familiar with the plans. These include B2B marketplaces Inframarket and Zetwerk, farm-to-production venture CaptainFresh, professional services marketplace UrbanCompany, jewelry retailer Bluestone, security company OneAssist, and offline-to-online retailer Magicpin. It will be.
Quick commerce startup Zepto, managed workspace provider Table Space, and industrial products platform Ofbusiness also plan to file for IPOs next year. Other companies aiming to go public include Rebel Foods, logistics company Porter, e-commerce platform Meesho, investment app Grow, mattress retailer WakeFit, car platform Cardeho, SaaS company Capillary, and payments company Pine Labs. However, some listings may be extended until 2026.
If all goes as planned, both companies will join a wave that's gaining momentum. According to Pitchbook data, India has already seen 12 startups go public in 2024, including seven technology companies, making it the only major market with a consistent increase in the number of listings over the past decade. There is.
This performance is in stark contrast to other major markets. The U.S. has recorded 22 venture-backed tech IPOs this year, about the same as the 21 tech IPOs in 2023 and far short of the 53 listings the U.S. market saw in 2020. China's tech IPO momentum has similarly waned, with 56 listings this year. By 2022, there will be 117 companies. Europe has just one more tech IPO than India, but the UK market is dormant. There will be no technology listings in 2024.
“IPO market opening is slower than expected in March,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a recent note. “Despite being ‘bounced up’ from 2022 onwards, many unicorns remain unprofitable businesses.”
This month's $1.35 billion listing of Indian food delivery platform Swiggy will be the biggest global tech IPO this year, according to JPMorgan analysis.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Anand Daniel, a partner at Accel, whose firm listed two portfolio companies this month, said: Investor interest. ”
The change is significant for the Indian market, which has historically struggled with exit opportunities and faced skepticism from domestic institutional and individual investors about listing loss-making companies.
Abhinav Bharti, head of India equity capital markets at JPMorgan, said India's unique position is due to several factors including macroeconomic growth, rising domestic capital and political stability.
“No other country in the world offers such political certainty and policy continuity,” he told TechCrunch in an interview. “You can argue with policy decisions, but you can't argue with the fact that policies are inconsistent.”
The growth of India's capital markets is particularly noteworthy. “The other thing that has actually grown is liquidity, which is many times the market growth,” Bharti said. “If you look at the full-year average from 2019 to 2024, market capitalization has doubled. It was about $2.6 trillion to $2.7 trillion. It's now $5.2 trillion to $5.3 trillion. Over the same period, Daily liquidity tripled from $5 billion to $15 billion.”
The surge in IPO preparations comes as trading in the private market slows. “The calmer environment and more scrutiny from VCs has forced startups to shed their 2021 peak valuations,” a partner at India's largest venture capital firm said on condition of anonymity. “But more interestingly, it has also forced them to improve their finances. As a result, in 2021 there are already many startups that were aiming to be ‘IPO ready’ within five years.” That means you are doing it. ”
In addition to Zepto, TableSpace, and others, Prosus' PayU recently announced plans to go public in 2025, and pharmaceutical e-commerce platform Pharmeasy is preparing for an IPO after a major reorganization this year. Financial services company Mobicwick also plans to go public next year.
Tech and healthcare companies make up more than 50% of the S&P 500 index. The same companies account for less than 20% of India's benchmark Nifty 50. Bharti said there is a lot of room for growth for Indian tech companies.